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California health regulators were investigating reports Tuesday that a hospital gave an extremely high dosage of a blood thinner to newborn twins, reportedly the children of Dennis Quaid and his wife, Kimberly.

The celebrity Web site TMZ.com said the actor's children, Thomas Boone and Zoe Grace, were given vials of heparin, used to prevent clotting, that were 1,000 times stronger than what was prescribed. Citing unnamed sources, the site said the children were in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's neonatal intensive care unit.

A hospital spokeswoman said she couldn't comment on the report because of patient confidentiality laws.

The state Department of Public Health was investigating reports of an incident involving newborn twins at the hospital, department spokeswoman Suanne Buggy said without elaborating.

In a statement, Quaid's publicist, Cara Tripicchio, said, "Dennis and Kimberly appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers and hope they can maintain their privacy during this difficult time."

Cedars-Sinai's chief medical officer, Michael L. Langberg, said in a statement Tuesday that on Sunday three patients each received vials containing 10,000 units per milliliter of heparin instead of vials with a concentration of 10 units per milliliter.

Once the hospital staff realized the "preventable error," they did tests to measure the patients' blood clotting function, Langberg said. One patient's test was normal, but two patients required a drug that reverses the effects of heparin, he said.

Further tests on the two patients "indicated no adverse effects from the higher concentration of heparin," said Langberg. "Doctors continue to monitor the patients."

"I want to extend my deepest apologies to the families who were affected by this situation," Langberg said.

Quaid and his wife are the biological parents of the twins, who were born Nov. 8 to a surrogate mother.

"God has definitely blessed us," the couple said in a statement announcing their birth.

Quaid, 53, has a 15-year-old son, Jack Henry Quaid, from his marriage to Meg Ryan.

His screen credits include "Great Balls of Fire!" "Any Given Sunday" "The Big Easy" and "Far From Heaven."